Exploring the streets of Aspen at night feels like stepping into the pages of a Disney storybook. Victorian-era lamp posts cast halos of light into the dark. Snowflakes fall in perfect prisms, interlocking as they drift toward the ground. Laughter floats from impossibly chic restaurants and bars. My heart rate quickens. It could be the elevation – Aspen perches 2,410 metres above sea level in Colorado’s towering Rocky Mountains. Or it could be the two margaritas I sipped in the après ski bar of the be-seen Limelight Hotel. But walking these storied streets always leaves me breathless. I’ll call it the Aspen effect – the heady tug that 1.4 million starry-eyed visitors succumb to each winter, despite it being the most expensive ski town in North America. Real estate is dizzyingly expensive. In fact, the region is home to Colorado’s most expensive property – a 10-bedroom, ski-in, ski-out mansion currently on sale for US$100 million. There’s even a neighbourhood at the foothills of Red Mountain, dubbed ‘Billionaire Mountain’, where everyone from the Bezos family to Walmart heiress Ann Walton Kroenke has bought in. The A-list of Aspen regular visitors is eye-popping: Kylie Jenner, Gigi Haddad, Mariah Carey, Leonardo DiCaprio and Elton John, to name a few. Trudging through the snowy streets some years back, I almost bowled straight into the security detail of the Obama family. To be fair, this ski powder hound was more focused on hitting first tracks than rubbing shoulders with a former US President.
Good neighbours
Local real estate agent Lane Johnson tells me Aspen’s allure lies in its money-can’t-buy exclusivity.
This story is from the Volume 44 edition of Signature Travel & Style.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the Volume 44 edition of Signature Travel & Style.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Ultimate CHARTERS
Mega-yachts are having their moment, and for those who like to set sail in style, now might just be the time, writes Kirstie Bedford.
BALLY'S RIDE on the tides OF CHANGE
With a provocative new creative director at its helm, Bally has taken a visionary leap forward with its spring/summer 2023 collection, writes Alex Stephen.
Southern SAILING
Windstar Cruises' debut Down Under proves one of the best ways to sail Australia's southern seas, writes Kirstie Bedford.
CLASS act
Atelier is enticing Sydney diners with modern French flavours and polished plates, writes Sue Wallace.
AMID the VINES
Newly under the guard of Baillie Lodges, The Louise unites the spirit of the Barossa Valley in a sleek necklace of accommodation strung through the bucolic South Australian countryside. Natasha Dragun checks in.
A NATION in degustation
Inner Sydney degustation-only restaurant Nel has Singapore in its sights with an ambitious project to put an entire culture's food on your plate, writes Steve Madgwick.
There's something ABOUT TELLURIDE
For a taste of the (very) high life and skiing that's a cut above, this is a ski town that caters for your every whim, writes Caroline Smith.
ALL EYES ON ASPEN
A century ago, silver miners were drawn to Aspen in Colorado seeking the fortunes lying beneath its mountain peaks. Today, wealth and thrills above ground keep visitors coming back, writes Kate Allman.
SKI UTOPIA
In the Rocky Mountains of Utah, Jeremy Drake discovers a luxurious ski town with a rugged cowboy soul.
NORTHERN ESCAPE
With some of the most accessible backcountry terrain in Canada and a bounty of ski resorts for on-piste pursuits, British Columbia is the ultimate winter playground for well-heeled travellers, writes Jennifer Ennion.
